Déjà Vu

Novgorod Station > Shuttle Bay
After the crowd was ushered out of the hangar, only essential personnel were left behind to finish preparing the crew for their launch from space dock.

A long hanging rack, strung with EVA suits, and a rolling table, lined with helmets, were escorted across the shuttle bay. SA-Miii helped measure those who had only recently arrived on Novogorod to suits and helmets with the proper fitting as the Nomad would have only 'one-size-fits-all' suits to spare.

As the female android, SA-Miii, wrapped a measuring tape around Povel, she spoke quietly in a British accent, "You seem to be shaking, Mr. Vieregg. Are you alright?"

Povel was shaking. There was a lot to process right now and he was trying his best to hold his emotions in check and remnants of PTSD at bay. He smiled softly to SA-Miii and responded in a tone of nervous kindness; a mix between a school boy tripping on the moment, and the care of talking to a loved one with Alzheimer’s.

He responded with his own Finnish accent, “I am... …I am.” He repeated it, as if trying to convince not just her, but also himself.

“It’s just… ...in my life, there have been moments, which have made all the difference. And I feel like I am reliving one of them, while simultaneously experiencing something new.” He tried better to stop shaking and hold still for her.

The synthetic paused her measurement for the briefest of moments in contemplation. Computations... or thoughts, rather, were processed in microseconds. She pondered the fact that she had never learned to crawl, stand, and walk the same as a human. It was simply a byproduct of her advanced programming, inherent in her code and construction. It was... already familiar. Akin to a deer that innately knows it must get up and move... and yet every interaction still felt... new and uncomfortable.

Internally, SA-Miii reasoned that the highest probability for Vieregg's melancholic reference and the cause of his elevated heart rate, within a standard deviation and margin of error, was primarily due to nerves about the upcoming mission, in relation to his past memories. Secondarily, she sensed it had something to do with his proximity to her female form, synthetic or not.

Then she blinked and carefully lowered her measuring tape, "As short as my time has been since activation, I believe I understand exactly what you mean."

Her artificial eyebrows displayed a good approximation of gentle concern. She took a step back from Povel with a subtle grace, as if respecting the delicate balance of his emotions. "If it would ease your discomfort, we can proceed at your pace."

Povel gently shook his head, “You are performing most admirably, please continue.” He didn’t want to hinder or slow the process down for her task or others waiting.

“I think it will help if I might distract myself on other thoughts, than my own, while you finish. If you don’t mind me asking, how are you feeling today?” He reasoned that his fixation on matters that were important to him were causing the spike in anxiety and perhaps focusing on other things would produce a calming effect. After all this had been four years in the making.